The Chicago Family
by KirstenSmee
Summary: Gabby is the new ER Doc at Chicago Med. She meets the crew of Firehouse 51. Friendships form, romance evolves, action, hurt and comfort is experienced, but over all that there is family. Sort-of CF AU, Gabby/Matt later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

 **Authors note:** This is a Chicago Fire fic set is type of alternative universe. Shay is alive and well, working in Firehouse 51 with Brett as her partner. Dawson doesn't work at the Firehouse, she is a Doc that just moved back to her hometown of Chicago and started working in the ER of Chicago Med.

Let me know how you like the story! So without further ado let's get on with the story, shall we?

* * *

Ambulance 61 returned from their call and both Shay and Sylvie jumped out of the rig. But Shay looked happier than usual.

"What got Shay so excited?" Severide asked Brett as she walked past the squad table.

"We met the new ER doc today at Chicago Med. And Shay is convinced that she is her soulmate." Replied Brett leaving confused Severide to fallow her inside the common room of Firehouse 51.

".. and she was so gorgeous. Mocha skin, dark hair and beautiful brown eyes. " Severide heard the end of the story Shay was telling the rest of the guys and thought that she must be talking about the new doc.

"Is she even gay though, Shay?" asked Otis wanting to know himself because that new doc sounded hot.

"I don't know. But if she is not I bet I can convince her to be." She smirked at Otis and left the room.

"Okay now we need to see this new doc. Let's Google her. What's her name Brett?" Otis asked all excited and everyone gathered around the laptop. Even Lieutenant Matt Casey who usually didn't get involved in Otis's antics stood so that he could see the screen.

"I think her last name is Dawson" Sylvie responded and Otis typed Doctor Dawson into the search engine.

But as he was about to hit enter the sirens called the firefighters and paramedics to work. Accident on 24th street.

As the firehouse 51 arrived on scene Lieutenant Casey jumped out of the firetruck and asked the wife of the victim what exactly happened as he saw a man with one leg pinned under a large moving container. The victim was conscious and told that the cable had snapped and the container had just come down on him. Shay and Brett rushed to the scene.

After quick assessment the plan was to dig around the leg and slide it out because the container was too big to just lift it off of the victim. They went to work and dug away the dirt around the victims' leg but as the firefighters were about to lift the container just a tiny bit to slide the victims leg out from under the container Shay yelled them to stop.

"You can't lift it off of him. He is going into crush syndrome." When none of the firefighters understood what she meant, she explained "as soon as you free his leg he is going into cardiac arrest."

And then it dawned on everybody that the only way they could save the man was to take off his leg and Brett radioed in for trauma surgeon.

"61 to main. Send a trauma surgeon to our location for an amputation."

They had to wait only a few minutes as Chicago Med was fairly close to the location of the accident.

As soon as the car arrived a woman in scrubs jumped out fallowed by a nurse.

"Hi I am Doctor Dawson. Give me the lowdown." She asked the paramedics so that she could get to work as soon as possible.

"We gave him a liter of fluids and an amp bicarb." Shay responded silently thanking the universe that they sent Doctor Dawson to do the amputation.

"Are we in contact with the family?" Dawson continued to ask in strong steady voice.

Shay nodded her head towards the direction where the patient's wife was and Dawson turned to the closest available firefighter to say that she will need consent. And it just happened to be Lieutenant Matt Casey who was utterly stunned by the attractive doctor but quickly snapped out of it to ask for the wife's consent.

He had to do some negations but he finally managed to convince the victims wife that the amputation of her husband's leg was the only option they had and Doctor Dawson got to work.

All the firefighters and paramedics were impressed by how quickly and efficiently she worked. She didn't hesitate to get to work, and from the bystanders perspective it seemed like she have been doing amputations her whole life. And that was partly true because this wasn't Dawsons first field amputation so she knew that there was no time to waste and her hesitation or dislike for the scene wouldn't help anybody. So she quickly took off the leg and the patient was lifted into the ambo to drive to Chicago Med mere minutes later.

Once the Ambo left with the patient, paramedics and Doctor Dawson inside, the firefighters couldn't help but discuss the events that just took place.

"We didn't need to Google her after all." Otis remarked.

"Yeah we met the real live model and I can see why Shay was so obsessed. Who wouldn't?" chimed in Cruz. And the rest of the firefighters couldn't agree more.

The topic of Doctor Dawson continued even after they had returned to the firehouse.

".. and, and did you see how efficiently she worked. She looks like a total bad-ass." Otis continued to rave about the doc.

"Well she definitely is out of your league." Laughed Herrmann which finally closed the subject of Doctor Dawson. But Matt Casey couldn't get her out of his head. He was single and have been for a while but a girl like that probably was taken, hell she might even be gay as Shay had hoped for. But he still thought about her the rest of the shift and well after that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

 **Authors note:** THANK YOU everybody who reviewed and followed the story. It means so much to me! I have the majority of the story finished so I will try to update quite often. End of boring AN and on with the story.

* * *

The next time Doctor Dawson was mentioned was next shift when Shay and Brett returned from a call. They had met the doctor at the hospital and had a nice conversation before the doc was called away.

"Well she isn't a lesbian." Stated Shay walking into the common room with laughing Brett behind her. "But her first name is Gabriela or Gabby for short and she is coming to Mollies tomorrow evening." As soon as Shay finished that sentence there were cheers heard from all over the common room. There is no doubt that every single one of these firefighters will be at Mollies tomorrow.

It was fairly easy shift after that but the only fire they had was at night so the firefighters and paramedics all went home after shift to rest up and to be ready for Mollies that evening.

The night was in full swing and the subject of Gabriela Dawson came up more than once. But finally around 10 p.m. all the talk finally hushed because Doctor Dawson herself walked through the doors of Mollies with a motorcycle helmet in one hand.

"Hey can you stash this under the bar, please? I don't want it to be stolen like the last time and I didn't have time to go home after my shift." She asked Herrmann behind the bar who complied surprised that this small woman drove a motorcycle.

As soon as her helmet was stashed arms encircled Gabby. She was surprised by Shays actions but quickly returned the hug. She had no problem hugging people she liked.

"You came!" Shay yelled and Gabby realized that she was more than buzzed.

"I promised I would. Besides after the shift I had I need something hard to put me to sleep." Gabby smirked at Shay and turned to stunned Otis and ordered whiskey on the rocks.

As soon as her drink was served Shay pulled her towards the table that she previously sat at and that now was occupied by none other than Severide and Casey.

After the official introductions were made they started talking about different things. At first she talked with Kelly for about an hour discussing motorcycle related themes and Kelly was surprised how much she knew about them. Her knowledge matched up to his. And after that she talked with Casey for a while finding that it was extremely easy to talk to him about anything. She stopped doing that only because a drunk Shay pulled Gabby away to dance.

Around 1 a.m. Gabby finally started to feel the tiredness and decided to go home. Shay tried to talk Dawson into giving her a ride home on the motorcycle but Gabby refused promising Shay to take her for a ride sometime else. Truth to be told Gabby would be glad to take the blond home but she was concerned that Shay wouldn't be able to hold on to her because she was so drunk so decided to promise her a ride some other time. Heck they could make it a girl's day out of it.

Gabby was surprised that not two days later Shay called her to remind her about that ride. Gabby was sure that she would have forgot by now but apparently that was not the case. So they decided that Gabby will be picking Shay up from shift next morning as she didn't have to work that day and they will have a fun day filled with good company.

Next morning Gabby put on her black skinny jeans, black boots and leather jacket and parked right in front of the firehouse precisely at 8 o'clock surprising all the firefighters who left the shift and those who just came in, too. She greeted the familiar faces and a few minutes later Shay walked out of the firehouse closely followed by Kelly and Matt.

"Hey! Anyone need a ride?" she asked smiling at Shay who laughed and came closer to her.

"Well if you are driving then I will need something more than only a ride.." Shay replied with a smirk and hugged Gabby. Dawson understood the implied undertone of that statement but just went with it because she liked Shay as a friend and loved how her comments brought out the banter between them.

"Hey boys.." Gabby yelled and winked in the general direction of Kelly and Matt, handed Shay the spare helmet, put on hers and drove away once again leaving the men of Firehouse 51 stunned by the mystery that was Gabriela Dawson.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

* * *

As soon as Shay walked through the doors for her next shift she was buried in questions about her day with the hot Doctor.

"So Shay is there something we need to know?" Asked Cruz wanting to know the details from her day with Gabby Dawson.

"Not really" she replied pouring herself a coffee knowing that they just want to know about her day with Gabby.

"C'mon, Shay, we all saw the Doc picking you up after shift. We want to know!" Otis complained.

"Okay, okay. Well we drove around the city for a while, then went back to my place to have some fun if you know what I mean.." Shay said wiggling her eyebrows. Casey hearing her say that literally chocked on his coffee which only confirmed Shay's suspicions that Casey had the hots for Doctor Dawson.

"She is lying by the way" chirped in Severide from the spot he was sitting in "I was home all day and there definitely was no funny business in our place or I would have heard it" he said standing up to pat Matt on the back seeing as his friend still was coughing.

"Fine" Shay said dramatically "we drove around the city for a bit and the went to my place to drink some wine and get to know each other a little bit better." She finished.

"And what did you find about her? Any dirt?" asked Mouch only half serious.

"No, but she did tell me how she was an army doctor for three years before moving back to Chicago. She worked in many of the hot zones in the Middle East and she is still kind off on call so if is they need her she will need to go back." Shay replied effectively shutting everybody up. Everybody were surprised but Matt Casey was simply amazed by the strong woman Gabriela Dawson was. And then the quiet moment came to an end because the siren blasted through the speakers "Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25. Accident. Gallagher street." And they rushed to their respective vehicles to help those in need.

"Doctor Dawson to ER, Doctor Dawson to ER" came over the hospitals intercom at the same time when Gabby's' pager beeped telling her that she was needed in the ER. She had just changed her street clothes for scrubs and was about to go get some coffee. I guess no coffee for her today, she sadly thought.

"Hey Megs what do we have?" She asked approaching the head nurse of the ER of Chicago Medical center not noticing the firefighters and paramedics wheeling in a patient.

"Guy got his hand trapped in some kind of machinery. It's nasty. The firefighters needed to remove a part of the machine and take it with them to get the guy here" She replied pointing towards the firefighters and the patient and only then Gabby noticed Shay and Sylvie standing with Severide and Matt by the gurney with a patient on it.

"Okay thanks Megs. Will holler if I need you." Gabby said and left to greet the familiar faces.

"Hey guys. Couldn't wait for me to have some coffee before barging in here?" She joked and started looking over the patient.

"Nop, wanted to see you before our shift ends." Shay joked back.

"Hello my name is Doctor Dawson. What's your name?" Gabby asked the patient who looked scared and in pain at the same time.

"My, my..n..name is Alex" he replied.

"Okay Alex we will fix you right up." Gabby assured him and rolled him to closest ER room so she could start working.

"How does this come off?" she asked once she examined the injury wanting to know what she needs to be prepared for.

"We need to take out these screws and then you can remove each of the parts that are digging in his arm" replied Severide and Gabby quickly got to work.

It was a messy injury and the removal of the metal didn't go as smoothly as she had hoped for but she managed to save the patient and his arm although she had to use some tricks she learned while she was treating solders in Afghanistan.

"I haven't seen anyone do that procedure this way." Remarked Sylvie as they all were standing close to the exit of the ER waiting for Shay to finish paperwork.

"Yeah you learn to improvise when you don't have a lot of supplies but do have a lot of critical patients" replied Gabby sensing that they already know about her background in the army.

"That must have been though!" Brett continued and all Gabby could do was nod. She wanted to talk to the firefighters and paramedics of Firehouse 51 some more but her name was again called over the coms meaning that she needed to get going.

"Well talk to you guys later" she said winking at Matt and left braking into a run as code blue was announced.

And so went the rest of Gabby's shift. The ER of Chicago Med was good staffed but it seemed that every time she finished with one patient the next one was piled on her shoulders. It was a tough shift that also run late because she was dealing with a critical patient so she got to Mollies only around 12 that night. She was starving, tired but she also desperately needed a drink.

"Look what the can dragged in. You look awful!" Shay commented as soon as she saw Gabby walking through the door at Mollies.

"Thanks, babe, you look amazing too." She replied to Shay and drowned the drink that Hermann placed on the counter for her.

"Wow.. the shift was that bad?" asked Shay seeing that her friend was exhausted and not really herself.

"Haven't eaten anything since breakfast and had to stay late because of a critical patient that I wasn't able to save. So yeah, I would say it was that bad!" Gabby told her friend not realizing that everybody around her were listening, too.

"Then you need some food, girl." Herrmann replied and went to the back of the bar to muster something up. Usually Mollies didn't serve food but Herrmann was sure that there was something edible back there. And he was right because not 5 minutes later he returned with a plate full of food.

"Oh My God, Herrmann, I could kiss you right now if you weren't married" Gabby exclaimed the alcohol clouding her mind because a shot of whiskey on a completely empty stomach will do that to you and dug into the food Herrmann brought.

The evening continued a few more hours but around 2 a.m. Matt saw that Gabby not only was buzzed but her eyes were slowly shutting so he offered to drive her home.

"Hey, Gabs, let me drive you home!"

"That would be amazing, Matt!" she replied and got off from her seat only not realizing that the mix of tiredness and alcohol affected her balance so she fell right into Matt.

"Sorry.." she whispered as Matt held on to her waist to steady her.

"No problem.. Let's get you home!" he said liking the way she felt into his arms. They said their goodbyes and walked out of the door Matt still holding Gabby close to him which she didn't mind.

As they got to Matts truck Gabby quickly told him her address when Matt realized something.

"You know that you live only a block away from me?" he asked.

"Seriously? That's awesome." She smiled up at Matt as he offered to drive her back to Mollies the next day to get her bike which she accepted because that meant she would spend more time with the hunky firefighter.

Not 20 minutes later they pulled in front of Gabby's place.

"Thanks for the ride Matt" Gabby said kissing Matts cheek and getting out of the car.

Leaving a stuttering Matt in his truck not being able to properly form the words "You're welcome!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

* * *

Next morning Gabby woke up from her doorbell ringing. She looked at the clock as saw that is was 1 p.m. But that didn't really surprised her because since she got back from Afghanistan she liked to sleep in whenever she could because over there she wasn't able to afford doing that and a night with 7 hours of sleep was a luxury. The door bell rung again and she unwillingly crawled out of the bed to see whose disturbing her. When she opened the door she realized that it was Matt.

"Hey, did I wake you? I just wanted to see if you wanted to get some breakfast before I drive you back to your bike.." he stammered trying to not looking at the barely there pajamas that Gabby was wearing.

"Yeah, that would be awesome and its okay I always sleep in whenever I have a free day." She replied motioning Matt inside so she could go get dressed.

"I will quickly change and we can go." She said and ran to her bedroom. She didn't really mind that Matt saw her in the PJ's because when you are living in close quarters with soldiers, there is not much privacy, besides Gabby was comfortable with her body. However, she did mind that he saw her with a birds nest on her head because she liked to at least look presentable in front of Matt.

"You have quite the record collection" yelled Matt not wanting to feel awkward while Gabby was changing right in the next room.

"Yeah, I collect them, so now you know what to get me for Christmas" she joked pulling her boots on and rejoining Matt in her living room.

"Okay, we can go. I am starving!" Gabby said grabbing her phone, wallet and keys to her house and her motorcycle and they were on their way to breakfast.

Breakfast turned into lunch and Matt and Gabby didn't even realize that 3 hours had went by with them just talking to get to know each other. So when it came time for Mat tot drop Gabby off at Mollies to get her bike they didn't want to say goodbye.

"Thanks for taking me to breakfast/ lunch and for taking me to get my bike. I had such a great time." Gabby said smiling up at Matt standing by her motorcycle.

"Me too. Maybe we could do this another time?" Matt replied hoping that Gabby would agree with him.

"Yeah, definitely. How about next time we both have free days you come over and I cook for you? Diner food is great but I can do better." Gabby boosted wanting to spend alone time with Matt and really truly be alone with him.

"Name the place and time. I will be there!" Matt replied making Gabby so happy. With that Gabby unexpectedly to Matt hugged him and kissed his cheek again and went to get bike.

A man could get used to this the Lieutenant thought and went back to his truck as Gabby hopped on her bike and drove away.

Since it was Wednesday and Gabby knew that her brother was working today she drove to District 21 for a visit. She hadn't seen Antonio yet since she had been back in Chicago – her being busy at the hospital and him working undercover. But Antonio's case just closed and Gabby knew that it was time to see her older brother.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

* * *

She parked in a free spot near the entrance of the station earning a few looks from officers around her and walked inside of the station. As soon as she walked through the doors she saw a woman behind the tall desk opposite the entrance and recognized that it was District 21's desk Sergeant Trudy Platt about whom Antonio had told her about during their Skype chats while she was oversees.

"Hi, I am looking for Detective Dawson.." she trailed off as Sergeant Platt noticed her. She knew that if she used Detective Dawson instead or Antonio Dawson she would be led up to the Intelligence Units headquarters letting Gabby surprise Antonio like she wanted.

"Is he expecting you?" Platt asked Gabby seeing her as a bit of a trouble because she knew that Antonio was married but didn't know that he had a sister.

"Yeah!" Gabby replied confidently trying to dazzle Sergeant Platt with her brown eyes which worked because Platt allowed her through the intelligence gates.

Gabby took two steps at the time. Reaching the top of the stairs she heard her brother joke with his colleagues. Because Antonio was with his back to her he didn't notice Gabby right away but as he saw his fellow detectives starring at something behind him he slowly turned around. Want he didn't expect was his sister who he haven't seen in person for 3 years running into him wrapping her arms around Antonio and holding him close. But the shock didn't last long because soon he was holding on to his sister as tightly as she was to him. His colleagues were all confused and surprised by this display but quickly turned away from the pair to give them some privacy as they saw how close they were. Only not knowing what type of bond they shared.

The siblings just stood there for a while and then finally let go of each other quickly doing an inspection of one and another to see if there had been new scars or injuries during their time apart.

"I wanted to go see you tonight but this is even better!" Antonio exclaimed and hugged Gabby again earning a few strange looks from his colleagues.

"Well as soon as you texted me that you were finally done with the undercover I knew I had to see you!" she murmured.

With that Sergeant Voight walked into the squad room wanting to know what the commotion is all about and saw Antonio standing with a woman.

"Hey, Antonio, who's this?" he asked seeing that Antonio and the woman had a special bond.

"Oh, sorry" he said and turned around to face everyone still holding onto his sister and not wanting to let her go. "This is my sister Gabriela" Antonio introduced finally banishing the suspicions everyone had that Gabby was Antonio's mistress or something.

"Hey, everybody, have heard a lot about you all through Skype so I am glad to finally meet you in person!" she said smiling at everybody.

"Skype?" asked Detective Lindsay confused about why Antonio only talked to his sister through Skype.

"Oh, right. Gabby did 3 tours in Afghanistan each a year so I haven't seen her for three years." Antonio explained earning Gabby respect from everybody but especially Jay Halstead as he himself had served there.

"Okay, yeah, that was my fault. But what can I do. I am popular over there." She laughed poking his brother into his side.

"She's an army medic" Antonio once again explained earning a few laughs for Gabbys dark humor.

"Okay, brother, I will let you get back to work. But I am doing to Mollies tonight so if you and your team want to join you are welcome." Gabby said not wanting to be the center of the attention for that long.

"Mollies? So you are friends with the firefighters of 51 already? Damn you work fast, girl!" Antonio laughed and hugged his sister once again promising that they will be over at Mollies later tonight as they were planning to go there regardless to celebrate the end of their latest case.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

 **Authors note:** Thank you very much to everybody, who left me reviews. I really appreciate them and would love to hear more feedback. I have finished all of the chapters for this story, so be sure to check back often, as I will be posting new chapter every day or every other day, depending on my schedule.

* * *

Around 8 o'clock that night Gabby was getting ready to go to Mollies as there was a knock on her door and somebody walked through them.

"I hope you are not naked, Sis, because I am coming in." Antonio walked in Gabby's apartment and parked himself on her couch.

"Glad to see you too again, Tonio" she said walking into living room fully dressed and hugged her brother.

"Thought, I will pick you up tonight as we are doing to the same place." Replied Antonio.

"Well then let's go! Chop, chop, brother." Gabby said grabbing her things and walking to her front door closely followed by Antonio.

Minutes later they walked into Mollies Antonio's hand swung around his sister shoulders.

"Hey Gabby, hey Antonio" Shay said seeing the siblings approach them. "Wait you know each other?" she exclaimed. Drawing attention to them by everybody around them including Matt Casey who was already thinking that of coarse Gabby would be with somebody like the bad-ass detective Antonio.

"Unfortunately, yes." Gabby replied earning an offended 'hey' from her brother. "He's my brother." She said sadly prompting Antonio to start pouting.

"Oh, stop, Tonio. You know I still love you!" she patted his cheek and freed herself from Antonio's grip before he could start tickling her. Blood, war and bullets Gabby could handle, tickling.. not so much.

Then is clicked to Matt.. Antonio Dawson and Gabriela Dawson. Of course. Why didn't he realize it sooner?! They even look alike.

The rest of evening was spent Gabby getting to know Antonio's unit so she didn't had a lot of time to talk with Matt like she had hoped for, but around 11 Matt saw Gabby walking out of the bar. Thinking that she went out to get some air he followed her because he hoped for a chance to talk to her.

But he found Gabby pacing a few steps away from the door talking on the phone.

"When did this happen?" Matt heard Gabby ask into the phone.

"And what is their condition?" she asked again after a while making Matt think that she was on the phone with somebody from Chicago Med.

"Okay" she said sadly "I will call the base and get the next flight out" she said and said goodbye to whoever she was talking to. A realization drowned on Matt that she wasn't talking to someone from Chicago Med but rather with someone from U.S. base in Afghanistan.

Gabby turned around and saw that Matt was looking at her. She was about to say something when he asked "You have to go back don't you?"

"Yeah" she sadly said.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

* * *

After that Gabby and Matt went back into the bar, because now she had to tell her brother that too.

It was quiet in Mollies after Gabby's announcement. Everyone was shocked that she was leaving so soon, but Antonio was devastates. He had just gotten back his sister and now she is going back into the war zone.

"When is your flight?" Antonio asked fighting tears.

"At 1 p.m." she replied. Everyone said their goodbyes to Gabby and Antonio took her home to pack and get some sleep.

At 12.30 a.m. next morning Gabby was waiting for her plain at the private airfield just on the outskirts of Chicago which would take her to Washington where she then would catch a flight to the base in Afghanistan. Suddenly she saw four SUV's followed by firetrucks heading her way and she knew that that were her friends coming to say goodbye.

As soon as the cars and trucks came to halt and everyone climbed out Gabby yelled "You didn't have to come!"

"And not see you in uniform? You wish!" Shay replied and ran to Gabby hugging her tight. The hugs and goodbyes lasted for good 20 minutes until only Matt and Antonio was left for Gabby to hug.

"Sorry I didn't get the chance to cook for you!" She smiled up at Matt.

"Well at least you have something to come back for" he joked and hugged Gabby close. He didn't want to release her but he knew that he had to.

"Yeah" she smiled one last time at Matt and turned to her brother.

"You come back to me you hear?" Antonio hugged his sister as soon as Matt released her.

"I will Tonio." She said burying her head in her brother shoulder. It's weird how just a few weeks can give you so much and how quickly that can be taken away from you.

With that she released her brother and walked to the plane not looking at everybody because she knew that if she will look there will be no chance that she will get on that plane.

"All good?" The pilot of the small aircraft asked Gabby and she just nodded looking through the window of the plane to her friends and family as they took off trying not to cry because she was a soldier again.

Only a few people saw past her strong exterior and knew how hard it was for Gabby to get on that plane because it was as hard for them to let her go.

As soon as Gabby touched down at the overseas base she was whisked away to the makeshift hospital and there was no time to let Antonio or anyone else know that the reached her destination safely. And so began Gabby's fourth tour in Afghanistan. At first she thought that it will be a few weeks but weeks turned in months and soon she realized that she won't be able to go home any time soon as she was at a base that was attacked daily. The only thing that brightened her day was her skype chats with Antonio, Shay and sometimes even the others from Firehouse 51 and Intelligence unit. But even those were happening rarely and were far in between as often there was no internet at the base and no time for Gabby to even sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

 **Authors note:** Thank you again for everybody, who reviewed my story, so to thank you I am posting two chapters today. Yay!

In answer to the reviews, Gabby is coming back sooner than you think and there will finally be Gabby/Matt romance in a couple of chapters, so be patient. :) End of authors note, enjoy the story!

* * *

"Hey, Shay, have you talked to Gabby lately?" Herrmann asked Shay one shift about 9 months after Gabby left.

"Yeah I talked to her yesterday." Shay replied with a sad undertone.

"How is she?" Matt asked concerned about the girl that still held his heart as much as he didn't want to admit it.

"I think it is really bad over there." Shay began her account of the conversation she had with Gabby yesterday "She says everything is fine but I can see that it is not. She had bandages on her arms and it looked like it was painful for her to breathe so I think that she has a few broken ribs. On top of that she looked like she haven't slept for the whole nine months she had been there and our conversation was cut short when I heard what I think was an explosion and she was called away." The paramedic finished and everyone were shocked by what they heard. Of course they had seen the news that said that the situation in the region where Gabby was, was getting worse each day but they didn't think that it was that bad.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" asked Cruz concerned about Gabby.

But as Shay wanted to reply Antonio ran through the doors of the Firehouse.

"Gabby is coming home!" he said trying to catch his breath.

"What?!" Shay yelled starting to get excited however the look on Antonio's face told her that it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns.

"There was a huge attack on the base that killed almost all of the staff there so they are evacuating anyone that is still alive. She is hurt and I don't know how bad it is. But she is alive and she will be home in 48 hours." Antonio finished his story finally collapsing in one of the free chairs at the station putting his head in his hands. He was ecstatic that his sister will be home, but he also realized that he didn't know in what condition she will be in.

"At least she's alive Antonio. The rest we and more importantly she can handle!" assured Shay hugging Antonio.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

* * *

Shay and the rest of the 51 was on shift when the time came for Gabby to come home but Voight had given Antonio some time off to greet his sister. So once the 48 hours were up Antonio was at the army base to see his sister again with most of 51 and Intelligence unit waiting for news from Antonio.

The first thing he saw when he arrived at the airfield was coffins with the American flag draped over them loaded off the plane. No there weren't one or two, but there were dozens of them and then he saw his sister with one hand in a cast and half of her face covered in stitched up gashes from what looked like shrapnel limping off the plane fallowed by 20 more men in various conditions. That was what was left from the whole base 21 people. As soon as Gabby stepped on the pavement of the airfield she fell to her knees happy to be on the U.S. soil again but devastated from what she seen overseas.

"Gabby" Antonio yelled for his sister and started running towards her. But she didn't get up like Antonio hoped for. She just lifted her head and he saw the tears in her eyes. They weren't happy tears. So he too fell on his knees as soon as he reached his sister and cradled her into his arms sensing that all Gabby needed right now is for someone to hold her.

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours until Antonio sensed that he needed to get her out there because he saw that the reporters that were filming the arrival of the plane were about to come talk to him and his sister. So he gently helped Gabby to get up and they walked to Antonio's SUV and drove home. What he didn't know that the press had already recorded everything that played out on that airfield and had broadcasted it live on the local news allowing everyone who knew Gabby to see her devastation.

 **Back at the fire station..**

"We already reported earlier about the explosion in one of our military bases in Afghanistan. And today is the day the few surviving solders of that devastating attack returns home.." The reporter said and Shay ordered everyone to shut up and to turn up the TV in the Firehouse.

"Oh My God do you see those coffins?" Exclaimed Otis. "There must be a few dozen of them" Otis said as the reporter started talking again and everyone ordered him to shut up.

".. and it has been confirmed that only 21 soldiers had survived the attack making this one of the worst loses in U.S. army history in the last decades. And here comes the wounded soldiers." The camera zoomed in and everyone in 51 stopped breathing seeing soldiers with various injuries coming out of the plane and in their midst was their friend Gabriela Dawson limping with face covered in wounds and one arm in a cast. As soon as her feet touched the pavement she fell to her knees and you could see a man running to her and holding her in his arms. It was Antonio. The rest of the soldiers too looked like ghosts some on their knees, some standing being embraced by their families.

"They shouldn't be filming this" spoke Matt disturbed by the media willing to cover this and his heart hurting for Gabby as he saw her cry in his brothers arms.

"She looks.." but Shay couldn't finish the sentence and started crying in Kelly's arms who was right next to her.

"Let's see if we are able to talk to some of them" the reported started talking again after a while slowly moving towards Gabby seeming that Gabby was her intended target as she was the only female soldier there. But thankfully Antonio quickly led Gabby away not letting the reporter harass her and everyone at 51 and the Intelligence Unit for that matter took a breath. They all knew that it won't be easy for Gabby to recover from this but they knew that they will do anything they can to help.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

 **Authors note:** I cannot express how great it is to hear your feedback and thought on my story. So thank you all who is reading this and even bigger thank you for those who are reviewing it and adding it to favorites and alerts.

P.S. In the chapters after this is finally Gabby/Matt time. Okay, back to Chicago.

* * *

Antonio have fallen asleep on the couch in Gabby's apartment when he got his sister home and settled in. But he was abruptly woken up by Gabby's screams. Thinking that something was wrong and his detective instincts kicking in he ran to her room his gun drawn only to be met by his sister screaming and trashing in her sleep. He quickly approached her trying to wake her up be she managed to hit him a few times before she finally woke up scared and clung to her brother for dear life.

"Its okay Gabs. It was only a bad dream!" Antonio tried to sooth his sister.

"No it wasn't Tonio. I couldn't save them. None of them. It was my job to save them and I couldn't do it." She repeated over and over again crying into Antonio's shoulder. Finally after about an hour Antonio managed to convince his sister to get some more sleep this time leaving the light in her room on. Once he was convinced that she was asleep he went into living room to make a call.

"Antonio! Is Gabby all right?" Shay answered after the first ring.

"Yeah. She is finally asleep again but I think she has PTSD and she blames herself for not being able to save the rest of the soldiers. I have to work tomorrow so can you come stay with Gabby after your shift?" He asked the paramedic.

"Of course. And you should call Chaplain Orlovsky, he might help at least with the guilt. " Shay replied as Antonio could hear the sirens in the background calling Shay to work. "I will be at Gabby's a little after 8 a.m." and with that Shay hung up and Antonio tried to get some more sleep hoping that Gabby would get some peaceful sleep too. Little did he know that Gabby wasn't asleep in her room but up and pacing the room trying to get rid of all her memories and too afraid to fall asleep again.

Next morning at 8.15 a.m. there was a quick knock on Gabby's door and in walked Shay. She had just gotten off shift but that didn't matter if she could help her friend heal.

"Hey" she greeted Antonio who was making coffee in the kitchen and as soon as Gabby heard Shays voice she rushed out of her room and hugged her friend.

"Shay, I am so glad you're here!" she said her voice muffled by the tight hug.

"And I am so glad you are okay!" Shay replied. The both women stayed like that for a while until Antonio announced that he had to go to work and that he would be back in the evening leaving Gabby and Shay to spend some quality time together.

Shay was prepared that her friend won't be the bubbly woman she remembered before Gabby went back to Afghanistan, but she didn't realize how bad it was until a few hours later. Gabby barely spoke or ate and when they decided to watch a movie she stared at the screen not really seeing it.

Shay finally had enough and realized that Gabby needed to snap out of it. They were pretty similar in the sense that they needed a push to deal with their emotions so Shay decided to give the push to Gabby even if it meant that their friendship would take a hit.

"Okay, I can't take this anymore." She exclaimed and Gabby looked at her friend.

"Snap out of it and talk to me Gabs!" Shay yelled again but when she saw that Gabby wasn't going to talk to her she continued.

"It wasn't your fault, Gabby!" the blond paramedic finally said in a softer voice taking Gabby's hands into hers. "You couldn't have saved them all."

"But it was. I was the medic that was supposed to save everybody.. but.. but.." Gabby's voice wavered "they were so many and the attacks kept coming and.. and.. I just couldn't get to all of them.." she finally broke down in Shays arms and cried this time not keeping anything in. As the sun set outside Gabby told Shay everything that happened, step by step, not leaving anything out and with every word she said she felt her chest becoming a little lighter. And finally as she finished her story with the backup coming and extracting them she felt a little better. The grief, shock, sadness and devastation was still there but Gabby finally felt that maybe, just maybe she could continue to live her life.

Antonio returned to Gabby's apartment around 9 that evening only to find his sister and Shay curled up on the couch together fast asleep. This time Gabby seemed to sleep more soundly so he quickly left a note for his sister and went home to sleep in his own bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

* * *

The next few weeks were still though on Gabby as she still battled grief, guilt and PTSD from the big attack. She still had nightmares and certain sound scared her to a point of a panic attack but she was getting better each day, since she agreed to go see the Chaplain of the fire department that Shay personally knew.

Today was the day that she decided to visit the Firehouse and the Station as the Chaplain suggested because she knew that everyone there were worried about her and she wanted to thank them for caring. So she cooked up a storm, enough to feed a herd of firefighters and detectives and went on her way. First on the agenda – Firehouse 51.

Gabby pulled up to the firehouse in her car and quickly gathered as much bags as she could in her hands and started to walk the short walk up the driveway. As soon as the men of Firehouse noticed her they rushed to greet her and take the bags out of her hands only to be ordered to get the rest of them that were in her car joking that she do also own a car and that she didn't transport food on her monocycle. It was good to joke again Gabby thought to herself.

As soon as she set the bags on the desk in the common room of the firehouse she was hugged by strong arms. Matt Casey haven't seen Gabby since she got back and it was good to see her smiling again.

"Hey, Matt! I'm okay!" she reassured the firefighter and let go of him unwillingly because she saw that there was line gathered behind her of firefighters and paramedic who wanted to hug her too. Once everyone greeted Gabby and settled down she could finally say what she wanted to say to them.

"I know you all were worried about me and I also know that you all were a tremendous help to my brother because he knew he had friends to lean of outside his unit. So to say thank you I cooked you all lunch. Dig in!" she motioned as the firefighters all tore into the plastic bags finding delicious meals in them.

While Gabby was watching as everyone tore into her food and made noises of delight she didn't notice Matt coming to stand beside her.

"So does this count as you cooking for me because if so then I think we have a problem" Matt joked earning a laugh from Gabby.

"And what would that be?" she replied with a smile looking up at Matt.

"Well.. Every time you will want to cook for me now, you will have to cook for about 20 other people for starters" Matt continued on.

"So you're implying that there will be a lot of times I will be cooking for you?" Gabby asked now fully turning to Matt with a flirty smile on her lips.

"I sure hope so" he replied and went to get a plate of food for himself too before everything was gone.

Gabby stayed for a while at the firehouse but then she got to get going if she wanted to deliver her food to the intelligence unit. So she said goodbye to the firefighters and paramedics at 51 and went to repeat the same thing with the detectives of the Intelligence Unit.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

* * *

That night once Gabby settled in her couch to watch a movie her phone chirped.

"Hey, beautiful. What are you doing?" she read the text message and smiled. It was from Matt.

"Hey handsome. Just settled to watch a movie. What are you doing? Quiet night?" she quickly typed her reply.

"Mhm. And I got sick of watching Otis and Mouch battle over the TV remote." Came the reply.

"Wow. How could ANYONE get sick of THAT? :D" Gabby typed back.

"You'd be surprised. By the way your food was phenomenal and everyone were talking about hiring you as a chef for the firehouse. Would you consider a carrier change? :D" came Matts text a couple minutes later.

"To see you every day? Definitely! ;)" she replied to Matt's text hoping that she wasn't too forward.

"Well I know a few other ways how you could see me every day that doesn't involve a sweaty firehouse and bunch of firefighters. ;)" Matt typed back making Gabby almost drop her phone.

"Do tell, Lieutenant!" she decided to write back.

"Well, there was this time a hot Doctor promised to cook for me at her place… " came the reply and Gabby was now smiling at her phone.

"Tomorrow, my place around 7?" she typed back hoping that Matt would agree.

"I'll be there!" Matt texted back. They continue to text for few more minutes but then Matt got a call and their conversations was cut short.

Next morning Gabby woke up and saw that she had a text from Matt. "Good morning, beautiful! Can't wait to see you tonight!" it read.

Gabby spent that day to clean her apartment and to get her life together. She finally felt strong enough to go back to work so she called Chicago Med to announce that she will be coming back. Then she had her daily visit with the Chaplain that had become a good friend to Gabby and finally she stopped at the grocery store on her way home to get what she needed to make dinner for Matt that night. She decided to make her Grandmothers Mac and cheese instead of anything fancy because she knew that Matt will appreciate anything she makes and she didn't want to spend all evening cooking.

It was little past six when Gabby realized that she still needed to shower and get ready so she quickly straightened up her apartment one last time and jumped into the shower. But as she got out the doorbell rang. Since it was only 6.30 and Matt was supposed to come after 7 she wrapped a towel around herself and went to open the door thinking that it was Shay or her brother checking up on her. But to Gabby's surprise it was Matt.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

* * *

After Matt's shift which mind you was pretty hard, he got home and went to sleep, but unfortunately sleep didn't come easy as Matt was just too excited for his date with Gabby that evening. So having slept only a few hours he decided to go over to Gabby's earlier hoping to surprise her.

But in the end he was the one who got the surprise. Around 6:30 he knocked on her door and had to wait a minute for Gabby to answer, but as she did Matt wasn't expecting what he saw, Gabby standing there in only her towel just fresh out of the shower.

"Ha.." he tried to say but couldn't finish the greeting utterly stunned by the doctor standing in front of him in her towel.

"You seeing me half naked in barely any clothing is becoming a habit" Gabby laughed blushing while Matt was still searching for words. Finally he snapped out of his Gabby induced daze and just kissed her not knowing anything else to do.

"I have wanted to do that since I saw you come to that accident scene" Matt said as he pulled away from Gabby a few minutes later needing air.

"So me amputating a leg is sexy, huh?" Gabby joked and that broke all the tension that had formed after the awkward greetings and the kiss.

Gabby quickly invited Matt inside and ran to her room to get dressed, again not bothering with make-up or doing her hair as Matt had already seen her in basically nothing. She chose her favorite jeans that fit her just right and a light sweater that fell off of her shoulder and walked out to Matt who was sitting at her kitchen counter, waiting for her.

"As much as I would love if you stayed in that towel the whole night, I think this is better because now at least I can manage to form other responses to you besides kissing you." Matt joked but Gabby could see that he still appreciated her outfit.

"Well then next time we should have a date where the dress code is towels only as I wouldn't mind you kissing me all evening" she joked back and started to gather what she needed to make food.

"I am making my Grandmas famous Mac and Cheese by the way. I hope you don't mind the simple foods." She continued.

"It's perfect" Matt smiled at her.

Their easy conversation continued all through the cooking process with Matt helping her to make salad to go with their meal. And they stopped talking only when the food was served.

"Oh My God, Gabby" Matt exclaimed after taking the first bite "I thought the food that you brought to the firehouse was phenomenal but this is simply.." and he finished with a moan that Gabby thought should be illegal for Matt to make outside the bedroom. So she blushed a little, thanked Matt for the compliment and continued to eat. Once they finished the food they moved to the living room couch with some ice cream and wine to talk.

"So how did you decide to become an army medic?" Matt asked curiously.

"I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, but when I finally finished med school and my residency I realized that working in controlled hospital environment wasn't really for me. I had a friend who was in the army and said that they could really use doctors like me so I jumped to the chance and couple of months later I was working in Afghanistan." Gabby explained.

"Most doctors think ER is the craziest department to work in but to me it is the only place I could work in a hospital. I even considered working as a paramedic but the Chief of Services of Chicago Med Sharon Goodwin convinced me to stay in the ER saying that they needed a Doc of my experience there, meaning that if everything failed they needed someone who would be able to operate in the dark with only one flashlight and barely any supplies." She laughed looking up at Matt who had a look of amazement on his face.

"You have done that?" he asked wanting to know is that type of scenario is even possible.

"Yeah and unfortunately multiple times… especially in the last couple of months" she added quietly.

"I'm sorry, Gabby, I didn't think when I brought up the army.." Matt stared to ramble only being quieted by Gabby lips on his.

"It's okay, Matt!" she said once they finished their kiss "besides you are so cute when you ramble." She smiled reaching for her glass of wine.

"Cute you say?" he asked with a mischievous grin on his face. But it was already too late for Gabby to do anything, when she realized what Matt was about to do, so she ended up falling backwards on the couch laughing from Matt tickling her.

"Stop… Matt.. sto..p.." she tried to say but he didn't and all laughter died down only when they realized that he was on top of Gabby and their faces were extremely close to one another.

Matt wasn't sure what to do next. He desperately wanted to kiss her again and to deepen the kiss but he was afraid that Gabby wasn't ready for that so when Gabby pulled him down by the collar of his shirt and crushed her lips to his he realized that they wanted the same thing and were definitely on the same page.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

 **Authors note:** Just a fair warning there are only two chapters left (after this one) in the story and in many ways they are like an epilogue to the story and a glimpse into our favorite Firefighter, Detective and Doctor's future lives. I didn't want to drag out this story, so hope you understand and like how I ended it.

* * *

Gabby woke up the next morning from the best night's sleep she had had in a long while and realized that she wasn't alone in her bed. Matt was snuggled behind her his arms encircled around Gabby's waist to keep her as close to him as possible. As she felt him stir behind her she finally broke the silence of the room.

"Good morning" she said turning around so she could face Matt.

"That it definitely is" he smiled kissing Gabby.

They spent the rest of the day just enjoying each other company.

First Gabby made them breakfast that they devoured having worked up an appetite during the night and then they decided to go out to do something in the city as the weather in Chicago was sunny and warm. Matt suggested the zoo.

"Well, well. Does the tough lieutenant has a soft spot for pandas?" Gabby laughed as they stood in front of the panda cage and Matt looked like a kid in a candy store.

"What? But they are so cute!" Matt exclaimed earning a laugh from Gabby and a few looks from people around them.

"You're adorable" Gabby finally said kissing Matt and digging out her phone to take a picture of them.

They snapped a few shots and continued to enjoy their time together. Later in the evening they decided do go to Mollies, but what they didn't know is how their friends would react to them being together.

So they both got ready and drove down to Mollies around 9, walking in the hand in hand.

And as soon as they stepped through the door cheers could be heard. Apparently everyone already knew that they were together now and were happy for them. "Finally you two left your love nest?" laughed Shay coming towards them with two glasses and handing them to the couple.

"Shaaaaay, I don't want to hear about my sister love life!" Yelled Antonio from behind Shay but he, too, had a smile on his face, because he was happy that Gabby had found happiness and that the man she chose was Lieutenant Casey.

"Okay, okay. No more thinking about me and my love life. Let's just have a good time." Gabby responded going to hug her brother.

The rest of the evening was spent talking, having fun and just enjoying life because finally Gabby felt that she was back to normal and back to her real life.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

 **Authors note:** Okay guys. This is second to last chapter of The Chicago Family. Some of you have been requesting I keep writing this story, but as of now I don't plan on it and will mark this story as complete, when I put up my last chapter. I like short and sweet stories and that is what this will be, too. Don't be mad or upset. There are so many great CF stories on FF and I am working on couple new dabbles, too, so give some love to other authors and stories and stay tuned for the last chapter!

* * *

In the next couple of months Gabby's life settled back into place. She was working in Chicago med, happily dating Matt and enjoying life with her friends and family. She still had some nightmares during the night, especially if Matt wasn't sleeping besides her, and some panic attacks, but she took one day at the time, enjoying life and love.

One day during the shift in Chicago Med Maggie called Gabby to her. Gabby had just finished working on a critical patient with a gunshot wound to the chest and was in desperate need for coffee, but as soon as she walked to Maggie to find out what she wanted, she stopped dead in her tracks, seeing as two military dressed man stood beside Maggie. In her mind Gabby knew that it could mean two things, either very good or very bad news. As she approached the men she saluted them and looked at them curiously.

"Lieutenant Gabriela Dawson, on behalf of the United States Armed Forces and the President of the United States, we are proud to announce that you will be receiving Medal of Honor for the gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty shown in the attack on Camp Dwyer in October 2015." One of the military personal announced and saluted to Gabby, giving her an invite to the ceremony in the White House that was held next month.

Gabby was speechless and so was the rest of the people around her. Everybody knew that the Medal of Honor was the highest award you could receive. After a couple of seconds Gabby was able to snap out of her daze, thank the men and they were on their way. Only after she took a seat in the Doctors lounge afterwards the realization drowned on her, that she didn't think that she deserved the award. So many people died on the day of the attack and in the next couple of days afterwards, and she as the main medic couldn't save them. The old feeling of panic, devastation, regret and hurt that she thought she had gotten over was back and she put her head in her hands, not being able to breath or think straight. Just then Doctor Choi, the other doctor with military background in the Chicago Med ER walked in, and as soon as he saw Gabby this way he rushed to her and knelled in front of her.

"Gabs, what's wrong?" He softly asked Gabby.

"I don't deserve that award, because I couldn't save them all." She replied to Ethan, knowing that he would understand. He himself still was battling the effects of PTSD on daily bases and they had talked about this to each other many times, bonding over it.

"Gabriela Dawson" Ethan started praying Gabby's hands away from her face "that's not true. You do deserve that award. Yes, you didn't save them all, but not because you didn't want to save them, because you couldn't. Job as a doctor is hard. But when you have to do it in a war zone it is even harder. Most people don't understand this, but you know that I do understand. I am saying that you do deserve the award, because you not only saved the 20 people you could, but you also was the one who made sure that the rest of them came home to their families and to the country, which they died protecting. And that makes you worthy of that Medal of Honor." He finished his speech and Gabby just looked at her friend with wonder in her eyes. A couple of seconds passed and suddenly she launched herself at Ethan hugging him as tight as she could.

"Thank you, Ethan!" she murmured into the hug. She still wasn't fully convinced about the fact that she deserved the medal, but at least she didn't feel so guilty anymore, because she knew that if Ethan thought that she deserved it, then then the rest of the men that survived and the families of those who didn't wouldn't condemn her for receiving the medal either.

After the moment passed they both went back to work, because they both knew that all that needed to be said was said and that Gabby felt better about this. The only thing on her mind regarding the medal now was how to announce this to her brother and friends and who to take to the White house, as she was allowed a plus one.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the One Chicago universe characters or the few accident stories I will borrow from real CF episodes.

 **Authors note:** Well, guys, this is it, short and sweet ending of this CF story. Big thank you to each and one of you who read the story, commented, favorited, followed and liked it in general. See you in my other stories and around FF universe.

* * *

Gabby ended up taking Matt to the White house dinner, as her brother had insisted on it, actually. They had been dating for quite some time and were already practically living together. They both also knew that they were IT for each other and knew that they will spend the rest of their lives together, although Matt still managed to make his proposal a surprise for Gabby.

They had just returned to their hotel room from the White house dinner with Gabby's medal in hand. And although they had already eaten, Matt insisted on having a drink at the hotel's bar, which was on the roof. When they got there the bar was empty besides one waiter who showed them to their seating, which was a booth type setting, set up so their view was the Washington skyline. They enjoyed their drinks, talked, laughed and just spent time together, with Gabby thinking this was a congratulation for the medal from Matt. But what she didn't expect was Matt getting down on one knee and proposing, making this already memorable day one that Gabby would never be able to forget.

 **Three years later**

Gabby was working a shift at the ER of Chicago Med like she had been for the last four years, but in those short years so much had changed.

In this time Gabby had gained a new perspective of what home felt like and a new family, the Firefighters of Firehouse 51, detectives of the Intelligence unit and the staff at Chicago Med, her Chicago family.

But most importantly she had found the love of her life and soon, there will be a new addition to her family, her and Matt's daughter Elizabeth, named after her aunt, Gabby's best friend and the heart of The Chicago Family, the PIC on Ambulance 61, Leslie Elizabeth Shay.

"Doctor Casey to Exam room 3, Doctor Casey to Exam room 3." Told a voice through intercom, interrupting Gabby's musings over her beginning-of-shift cup of tea.

"And that's my que" Gabby quietly said to her swollen belly rubbing it a bit, and then walking in the direction of Exam room 3.

On with the shift and the rest of her life.


End file.
